LES PAUL DEAD AT 94, SLASH AND JOE SATRIANI REMEMBER & SHARE

Les Paul, legendary guitarist and inventor of the Gibson that bears his name, passed away at age 94, and Slash and Joe Satriani remember their friend

Les Paul, the acclaimed guitar player and inventor of the Les Paul, passed away today, August 13, at a hospital in White Plains, New York from complications of sever pneumonia. He was a robust 94 years old, and had been playing gigs at New York City’s Iridium until recently. He was born on June 9, 1915 and was already performing publicly as a honky-tonk guitarist at the young age of 13. He created the solid body Les Paul after years of innovation in the 1950s and now guitarists from Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, to Slash to Tom Morello all sing its praises.

Guitarist extraordinaire Joe Satriani, who is currently on tour with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith in Chickenfoot, got on the phone to talk about Les. We asked him when and where he was when he heard the news.

“I was sitting in a Starbucks with Chad Smith and we were doing some stuff on Twitter, and it popped up. We started to see people leaving messages about his passing. I wasn’t aware that he had pneumonia again, so it was sort of a shock to me, completely, you know.”

Satriani, who is perhaps one of the most influential guitarists of this era and taught the likes of Kirk Hammett of Metallica, former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, and Steve Vai, said that Les Paul was more than an inventor of a guitar.

“To meet him was to learn how to be a good human being first and foremost. He ws just this fantastic person and when you spend time with him, hopefully some of that would rub off on you. As a musician of course his contributions to guitar playing and to music were just staggering. He was our first real guitar hero. He was one of those flashy guitar players who could back it up with solid musicianship. He invented multi-track recording. He invented the idea of pirate radio. He operated a station out of his apartment in New York City. He was the first guy to get the solid body guitar right. All the while he was doing this he was a fantastic entertainer, guitar player, and his career was just incredible.”

Former Guns N’ Roses and current Velvet Revolver and solo guitarist Slash said in a statement: “Les Paul was a shining example of how full one’s life can be. He accomplished so much, & was so vibrant & full of positive energy. I’m honored & humbled to have known & played with him over the years, he was an exceptionally brilliant man, musician, inventor, mentor & friend.”

We’ll have the complete Joe Satriani/Les Paul interview up soon. Les Paul is a member of four halls of fame, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, The Grammy Hall Of Fame, The National Inventors Hall Of Fame, and the National Broadcasters Hall Of Fame. A private ceremony is being held for him in New York, and a service in his hometown of Waukesha, Wisconsin and a public memorial will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers the family urges wellwishers to donate to the Les Paul Foundation, 236 West 30th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001.